Brembo S p A : Jason Fenske explains why carbon ceramic discs are so expensive

During his analysis, Jason compares a cast iron disc with a carbon-ceramic disc of similar dimensions. By dimensions, we mean diameter and thickness; the masses of the two discs are very different, as we will see.

Three main differences can be observed:

1) The material: cast iron is significantly cheaper than carbon. Furthermore, carbon-ceramic discs use higher-quality bushings or fixing bushes; the discs last longer than conventional versions and as such, the components thereof also need to last longer.

2) The production process: a cast iron disc takes just 90 minutes to make, compared to the three weeks of processing required to make a carbon-ceramic disc, due to the large number of stages and the complexity of the individual operations, many of which are carried out by highly specialized workers.

3) Economies of scale: carbon discs are produced in infinitesimal quantities compared to steel discs, and similarly, the components of the former are also manufactured in very small quantities. Accordingly, the economies of scale seen with the production of cast iron discs do not apply to their carbon counterparts.